Grete Hale

OTTAWA, Ont. (01/03/11)-- Grete Hale, 81, stands in the drawing room of the 183-year-old house, which she grew up in. The Bayne-Morrison house that is Hale's home is the oldest inhabited house in Ottawa, just one of the things that make her a notable figure in Canadian society. Hale is chairman of her father's company Morrison Lamothe Foods Inc., is most famed for her volunteer work, and is a board member of about 20 charitable organizations. She also welcomes hundreds of groups in her home for their fundraising events. Her most recent contribution, a book she wrote in her 80th year about her life experiences and encounters, Baker's Daughter: The Story of a long, rich, and very Canadian life, the proceeds of which all go to the Ottawa-based foundation CANHAVE Children's Centre, helping educate youth in Uganda. “The last thing my wonderful 89-year-old father has said when he was dying upstairs on his deathbed, he said to my sisters and I, ‘all I ask of you is that you be contributors.’ Isn’t that a wonderful thing for a father to say to his children?” Hale said in an interview on Tuesday, March 1, 2011. Photo by Hadas Parush.